Western Australia's Minister for Health Infrastructure, John Carey, has defended a decision to press on with construction of a new eight-bed hospital in outback WA after costs blew out more than three times original estimates.

Laverton Hospital was built in 1973 to serve the small northern Goldfields community, about 950 kilometres north-east of Perth.

Its local shire has been lobbying for a redevelopment for more than a decade.

The former Liberal-National government promised a $19.5 million redevelopment of Laverton Hospital in 2015, before funding was cut by WA Labor when it came to power in 2017.

After years of delays, former health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson announced in February, on the eve of the March state election, that ADCO Constructions had won the tender to build the new

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